Rejected Amusements: Miami Vice Action Spectacular at Universal Studios Hollywood

The Miami Vice Action Spectacular stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood opened in 1987. Based on the hit 80's TV show of the same name, Miami Vice replaced the earlier A-Team Live Stunt Show that ran since the mid-70's.

Going off the TV series' themes of two undercover cops raiding a drug lord's compound, the show incorporated boats, jet skis, guns, explosions, and even a run-away mine cart. Shown day or night, the show's finale involved a helicopter on a giant arm that emerged from behind a building, as seen in this overhead shot below.

Miami Vice (the TV show) was cancelled in 1990, while the stunt show managed to live on until early 1995. Today, this area is home to the Waterworld Stunt Show, which retained several of the same stunts.

There were preliminary plans to build a version of this show at Universal Studios Florida, but instead, that park received the spiritual successor to the show, Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular.